Researchers say that people with the DRD4 7R gene are at an increased risk of ADHD and addiction but also more likely to live to extreme old age.

For those prone to addiction…finally some good news!

Researchers say having a gene that predisposes you to
conditions like ADHD and addiction may also keep you fit and healthy into
extreme old age.

The DRD4 Gene

The DRD4 gene plays a role in regulating the body’s response
to dopamine (a natural pleasure producing chemical).

People with the DRD4 7R allele do not respond as strongly to
dopamine, and as a result, experience less pleasure from everyday stimuli
(enjoying palatable foods, for example).

People with this genotype have also been shown to have an
increased risk of ADHD and addiction. The increased addiction risk likely
occurs as people seek out more intense dopamine-releasing experiences as a way
to compensate for their under-performing dopamine systems.

However, people with this genotype are also more prone to
greater activity as they seek out pleasure and arousal, and over the long term,
especially once you pass the risky adolescent and young adulthood period, this seems
to encourage longevity.

So a genotype which increases your risk of problems in early
life may decrease your risk of problems in older age by keeping you more active
and healthy.

The Experiment

Researchers collected genotype information from more than
1000, 90 to 109 year old study subjects.

They found that:

The oldest study subjects were most likely to have the DRD4
7R allele.

Compared to people who died at a younger age, people who
lived past 90 were 66% more likely to have the DRD4 7R allele

To further test the link between the DRDR gene and
longevity, the researchers eliminated the gene from a group of mice.

The mice missing the DRD4 gene didn’t live as long (7% to 9.7% fewer days) as the mice with this gene
expression.

Not only does mindfulness improve mental health, researchers at UCSF say it may also improve cellular health by protecting chromosomes from damage and decay… So at the end of the day – paying more attention might lengthen your lifespan.

Loads of research links mindfulness to decreased depression
and increased happiness, but could the simple act of paying attention to the
moment protect cells from degradation?

Could paying attention to life actually
lengthen your life?

Well, according to a team of Nobel Prize winning scientists
who study telomeres – mindfulness and longevity may well go hand in hand.

Telomeres are caps that protect the ends of chromosomes from
damage. Telomere length decreases with age, and factors like
physical or mental stress can accelerate this shortening.

And unfortunately, shortened telomeres are associated with
an increased risk of dying.

Would regular mindfulness – paying attention to the present
moment - have any influence on telomere length?

The Study

Researchers recruited 239 women between the ages of 50 and
65 and asked each subject to rate how much their mind wandered during everyday
tasks and how well and how often they stayed focused and ‘in the moment’ with
everyday tasks.

The subjects were then tested for psychological stress and
measures of well-being

The researchers then measured each subject’s telomere
lengths.

The Results

Even after controlling for confounding factors like stress,
women who reported more present moment awareness had longer telomeres than
women who reported less mindfulness during everyday tasks.

The Commentary

Lead researcher Elissa Epel, PhD, discussed the significance
of the results, writing, "Our attentional state—where our thoughts rest at
any moment – turns out to be a fascinating window into our well-being. It may
be affected by our emotional state as well as shape our emotional state…This
study was a first step and suggests it's worth delving into understanding the
link between mind wandering and cell health to get a better understanding of
whether there is causality and reversibility. For example, does reducing mind
wandering promote better cell health? Or are these relationships just
reflective of some underlying long-standing characteristics of a person?"

Previous research has demonstrated that mindfulness
meditation is associated with an increase in levels of the enzyme that protects
telomeres, called telomerase.

In an animal model study, researchers found that rats given a THC-like substance in adolescence gave birth to offspring who were more predisposed to enjoy and abuse opiates than rats born to mothers that had not used THC-like drugs.

If our brains work at all like the rats in this study, and scientists
suggest there are at least some comparable elements, then it turns out that the
consequences of adolescent marijuana use go far beyond the teen years – in fact
these consequences linger on into the next generation, increasing our offspring’s
risk of opiate abuse and addiction.

The Study

Researchers administered a group of adolescent female rats
with the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN-55, 212-2 – which is a drug that
works very similarly to the THC found in marijuana.

The male offspring of these mother rats were then grouped
against a comparison group of rats born to mothers that had not been given the
THC-like drug.

All the rats were then given a choice to stay in chambers
containing either saline or morphine solutions.

The Results

The rats born to mothers given the THC-like drugs were far
more likely to prefer spending time in the morphine chambers than the rats born
to mothers not given the drugs.

Researchers say that this place preference shows that rats
born to THC-like drug using mothers have an increased predisposition to use and
enjoy opiate drugs.

Commentary

Commenting on the significance of the results, lead study
author Professor John J. Byrnes of The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
noted, “Our main interest lies in determining whether substances commonly used
during adolescence can induce behavioral and neurochemical changes that may
then influence the development of future generations. We acknowledge that we
are using rodent models, which may not fully translate to the human condition.
Nevertheless, the results suggest that maternal drug use, even prior to
pregnancy, can impact future offspring."

The results of this study add credence to a study published in Behavioral
Brain Researchlast year which demonstrated that adolescent rats given
opiates gave birth to offspring that were also predisposed to use opiates.

Wondering what’s causing your depression? Have any concussions or other forms of brain injury in your past? Well, if you do it might explain the way you’re feeling, because having a brain injury, even a minor one, greatly increases your risks of depression – even years after the fact.

Feeling depressed and not sure what’s causing it?

Well, if you have a concussion or other form of traumatic
brain injury in your past, even from many years ago, the legacy of that injury to
your brain could be responsible for the symptoms of depression you feel today.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when you get hit,
bumped, jolted or pierced severely enough to cause some temporary or permanent
change to brain functioning.

TBIs can range in severity from mild to severe and can be
fatal

Mild TBIs cause a momentary loss of consciousness or a
temporary change in mental functioning, such as feelings of wooziness, seeing
stars, headaches, short term memory loss or feeling confused. About 75% of TBIs
are concussions or other forms of mild brain injury. People rarely seek medical care for a mild TBI.

More serious TBIs may involve longer periods of unconsciousness
or coma and or more severe amnesia

Other TBI facts:

Symptoms of TBI may occur right away or they may not emerge
until days or even weeks following the injury. Some common TBI symptoms
include headaches, difficulties with memory or clear thinking, mood changes, a
ringing in the ears, changes to sleeping habits and feelings of fatigue. These
symptoms can persist for a long while and TBI can cause depression or anxiety,
even years after the fact.

Traffic accidents cause about half of all TBIs. Other common
causes include getting hit in the head with a hard object, banging your head on
the ground or against another hard object or being in close proximity to an
explosion (a frequent cause of military TBIs)

How Frequently Are TBIs Linked to Depression?

Experiencing a TBI greatly increases your odds of also experiencing
mild or major depression.

Consider the following facts:

About 1.7 million Americans have a TBI each year

According to the US Dept. of Health, about 1 in 10 people
without TBI will experience depression at some point. For people with TBI, that
number climbs to 3 in 10

Other experts put the incidence rate even higher.
Researchers at the University of Washington suggest that about half of all people
with TBI experience depression within the first year after injury, and about 2
in 3 experience depression by 7 years after brain injury.

Does Experiencing More Than One TBI Increase the Risks of
Depression?

Yes, this is likely so - Studies on concussions (a mild form
of TBI) show that having one concussion increases your susceptibility to future
concussions and that the more concussions you have, the greater your risk of
experiencing depression.

A study on ex NFL players showed that players who had sustained
3 or 4 concussions had twice the risk of experiencing depression as players who
never sustained a concussion – and players who had sustained 5 or more concussions
had 3 times the depression risk as those who had never sustained a concussion.

Why Does TBI Cause Depression?

Researchers do not yet completely understand how TBI causes
depression. Some of the physiological reasons why TBI may cause depression
include:

Direct traumatic injury to areas of the brain that regulate
emotion

Brain trauma causes changes to cellular processes in the
brain and these changes result in secondary brain cell death. Some of the
change that may occur include: the formation of free radicals, changes to calcium
and magnesium regulation, an increase in excitatory amino acids and changes to mitochondrial
actions.

TBI may also cause temporary or permanent disability, an
inability to perform at previous levels and changes to roles within the family
or on the job. These lifestyle changes can cause emotions and behaviors that
increase the likelihood of depression.

Male fruit flies that couldn't get any sex drink far more alcohol than sexually satisfied male fruit flies. Researchers say that variations in levels of a chemical called neuropeptide F explain the difference and that humans also make use of a very similar brain chemical.

Researchers at The University of California, San Francisco say
that sexually frustrated fruit flies drink more alcohol – and that the results
of their experiments might help to explain why some people drink to excess.

The Experiment

A group of male fruit flies were separated into 2 study
groups. One group of male fruit flies entered an environment full of ready to copulate
virgin female fruit flies and the other group of flies entered an environment with female fruit flies that had
already copulated and would not do so again.

After a few days, the fruit flies in both groups were given
access to two different types of food: one food mash containing alcohol and one food
mash without alcohol. Fruit flies normally enjoy consuming alcohol.

The Results

Commentary

The researchers say that compared to the sexually fulfilled
flies, the sexually deprived fruit flies had half the amount of a chemical
called neuropeptide F and that this differential likely explains why one group
preferred to drink alcohol and the other group did not.

Humans do not use neuropeptide F but we do use a very
similar substance called neuropeptide Y. Because of this, the researchers
suggest that neuropeptide levels may play a role in substance abuse and
addiction.

Looking for a way to control your pain without resorting to addictive opiates? Well, researchers say you might as well start by putting on some of your favorite music, because in one recent study, listening to music actually reduced sensations of pain.

Researchers at the University of Utah Pain Research Center wondered if music might produce more than emotional response; they wondered if music might also be used as a form of analgesic medicine, speculating that music might disrupt a person’s ability to attend to sensations of pain and thereby reduce the intensity of experienced pain.

To test their hypothesis they enlisted 143 study volunteers and:

Had each subject listen to music and complete a task that consisted of following the melody in a song and listening for deviant tones within that melody

Gave periodic electroshocks via electrodes attached to each subject’s fingertips

Measured overall arousal levels during the experiment (looking to find out if electroshocks given during music tasks elicited less arousal than electroshocks given without accompanying music tasks)

The Results

Engaging in a music task reduced the experience of pain.

The subjects who went into the experiment with the most anxiety about the pain they would experience achieved the greatest reduction in pain

Discussion

The study authors suggest 3 explanations for music’s ability to reduce the experience of pain:

Music activates certain sensory pathways in the brain and when these pathways are activated the brain is less able to make use of similar sensory pathways that transmit pain information

Music can elicit a positive emotional state which protects against the experience of pain

When attending to music you are less able to attend to the experience of pain

Recommendations

The researchers recommend listening to music as a way to control pain, particularly for people who feel high levels of anxiety about pain and for those who can become very engrossed in a task.

The full study results can be read in the Dec 2011 edition of the Journal of Pain

Research suggests that music therapy reduces cancer related anxiety and some pain.

To see just how well music therapy works to control things like pain, depression and anxiety in cancer patients, researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia examined data from 30 clinical studies involving 1891 study subjects.

In 13 of the studies, music therapists helped study subjects create music, use instruments or enjoy music through techniques like guided imagery. In the other 17 studies, subjects simply listened to prerecorded music. They found that:

After taking part in music therapy, cancer patients experienced significant reductions in anxiety, some reductions in pain and small improvements in physical health, such as improvements in blood pressure scores and heart and respiration rates.

The researchers say there was no one type of music identified as working better than another, rather it was matching music to the tastes and preferences of the listener that was most important.

Summing things up, lead study author Joke Bradt, Ph.D wrote in a press release that, "The evidence suggests that music interventions may be useful as a complementary treatment to people with cancer."

Commenting on the results of the study, neuroscientist Robert Zatorre, Ph.D. of McGill University said that it wasn’t surprising that research showed how music could reduce anxiety, after all he said, “That's why lullabies exist to calm down babies who won't sleep."

He says that though the true benefits of music therapy as compared to medications aren’t totally known, there is little harm in trying to quell anxiety with music arguing, "The cost involved with music is very small compared to other kinds of interventions. How well it works say, compared to drugs is another question, but the side effects are very minimal as well. The worst thing that can happen [when] someone doesn't like music is that they can turn it off."

The full study results can be examined in the current online edition of Cochrane Reviews.

Researchers at The Scripps Institute say they’ve got an experimental heroin vaccine in the works, and based on the results of animal testing experiments, it looks like it just might work.

Drug abuse vaccines work by teaching the immune system to recognize certain drugs as molecules to be targeted for destruction. If the immune system can target and destroy a drug that is consumed, (like cocaine, nicotine or heroin) before it can exert its effects in the brain, then there is little reason for a person to use drugs. In this way, researchers hope that drug vaccines might prove effective tools in a personal battle against drug addiction.

Scientists have been working on a heroin vaccine for a while, but previous attempts have shown little promise. The problem has been that heroin is metabolized by the body very quickly into a number of psychoactive substances, all of which work together to create the heroin high.

So the Scripps team developed a vaccine that would target not only the heroin molecule, but also the chemical compounds that heroin degrades into, such as morphine and 6-acetylmorphine, and initial animal testing indicates that this new approach works very well.

Heroin addicted rats which were given the vaccine developed antibodies to heroin and its metabolites and after vaccine administration pressed a heroin self administration lever less frequently than heroin addicted rats who were not given the vaccine.

In commenting on the success of the vaccine, lead study author Kim D. Janda, raved about the possibilities, saying, "In my 25 years of making drug-of-abuse vaccines, I haven't seen such a strong immune response as I have with what we term a dynamic anti-heroin vaccine. It is just extremely effective. The hope is that such a protective vaccine will be an effective therapeutic option for those trying to break their addiction to heroin."

Researchers in Ohio say it’s not only our lungs that suffer as urban skies grow hazier – Intelligence and happiness are also at risk.

Laboratory mice exposed for half a lifespan to polluted air that is similar in character to the air of a large polluted urban environment are more likely to experience anxiety and depression and perform more poorly on tests of learning and memory than mice that spent that same time period breathing in clean air.

When the researchers examined the brains of the affected mice, they found structural changes in the area of the brain responsible for much of mood and memory function; the hippocampus. The affected mice had reduced cell complexity in the hippocampus as well as shorter dendrites (connectors between cells) and overall inflammation across the area – all brain changes that have been shown in other studies to negatively affect learning and memory.

Lead researcher and Ohio State University doctoral candidate Laura Fonken commented on the significance of the results, saying, “The results suggest prolonged exposure to polluted air can have visible, negative effects on the brain, which can lead to a variety of health problems. This could have important and troubling implications for people who live and work in polluted urban areas around the world."

Previous research studies have shown that breathing in polluted city air increases the risks for diabetes, obesity and cardiac conditions.

Researchers at Florida State University say that animals which form long term adult pair relationships get much less reward from amphetamine than unpaired (single) animals.

If you’re a vole, pairing up with the love of your life protects you greatly against amphetamine addiction by reducing the drug's rewarding nature – an effect that may well occur slightly higher up the food chain - with humans - as well.

Researchers at Florida State University used voles, animals that form whole-life relationships with mates, to test the impact long term adult relationships have on the effects of amphetamine. They gave amphetamines to single (unpaired) voles and to adult paired voles and then looked at the brain cells of each to see if relationship status caused any difference in brain reaction to the drug.

They found that while amphetamine caused a similar dopamine release from the brain cells of all voles, amphetamine only caused increased dopamine binding for single voles. Paired voles actually saw an opposite effect from their ingestion of amphetamine - although they did experience an increased dopamine release, that release actually resulted in a lower than normal dopamine activation in the brain’s pleasure centers.

Dopamine release and the activation of dopamine receptors in areas like the nucleus accumbens in the brain cause the experience of intense pleasure. Dopamine is released in response to normal activities, such as eating or sex, and also after the ingestion of drugs like opiates, amphetamines, cocaine and others.

Study leader Zuoxin Wang commented on the significance of the research by saying, “Our results indicate that the pair bonding experience may alter the neurobiological response to drugs of abuse, which in turn may diminish the rewarding effects of the drug itself.”

In earlier research, Wang demonstrated that giving young unpaired voles unlimited access to amphetamine reduced their normal drive to form mating partnerships.

]]>John LeeAmphetaminesMon, 06 Jun 2011 04:08:11 +0000Forgetful? How Bout’ a Cup of Green Tea – It May Protect the Brain From Dementiaurn:syndication:0e83c34a2fab95f6b7787268227cbe75https://www.choosehelp.com/blogs/neuroscience/forgetful-how-bout2019-a-cup-of-green-tea-2013-it-may-protect-the-brain-from-dementia.html

Researchers have long known that a healthy diet, exercise and mental stimulation into older age all protect the brain from dementia and Alzheimer’s, and now based on the results of some research coming out of Newcastle University in the UK – they may have to add the regular consumption of green tea to that list of protective factors.

Dementia-like diseases are caused in part by cell death in
areas responsible for memory formation and storage. Previous research has shown
that compounds in green tea may help to delay or prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s
onset by inhibiting the activity of known Alzheimer’s triggers, beta amyloid
and hydrogen peroxide.

Previous research, however, has only studied the efficacy against
dementia of concentrated solutions of certain compounds found in green tea – and
what scientists didn’t yet know, was if normal consumption (drinking cups of
tea) had similar protective effects.

Led by researcher Edward Okello, scientists at Newcastle
University in the UK set out to find out whether or not plain tea drinking
would work as well as medications derived from compounds in green tea.

The results

Drinking the tea works!

The researchers fed green tea through a laboratory simulated
human digestive system and found that the properties in green tea that protect
against Alzheimer’s do survive the digestive process.

As a peripheral benefit, the compounds found in digested
green tea were also found to protect healthy cells from fast growing cancer
tumors, and at high concentrations, to actually kill cancer cells.

Commenting on the significance of the dementia protective results,
Okello said, "Our theory is that if you can prevent the initial triggers,
you can potentially prevent the onset of dementia. Or with greater consumption,
you could slow down progression."

He’s quick to note that other factors, like exercise and
diet play a huge role in protecting the mind, but still prescribes adding tea
to a daily routine, saying, "I think it's fair to say that at least one cup of
green tea every day may be good for you and I would certainly recommend
it."

Researchers discover that not only does Ritalin improve focus – it also quickens learning.

The stimulant Ritalin is a behavioral drug given to millions
of children to help tame symptoms of ADD/ADHD. Primarily, it helps those that
have trouble with concentration stay focused on tasks and attendant on
schoolwork. Ritalin is a somewhat controversial medication, as some argue that
doctors overprescribe and overmedicate ‘difficult’ children. Additionally, Ritalin
and other ADD medications are sometimes abused for their stimulant properties
and as study aids by those that have no medical need.

Although using Ritalin as a study aid may be hazardous to
health, it is likely to help with focused studying – and according to a recent study, to help with learning a little more in a little less time.

Ritalin boosts dopamine in the brain, specifically in brain
regions such as the amygdala – a region essential to learning and memory. Researchers
at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research
Center looked closely at
what was happening as a result of this dopamine boost, and using animal models,
discovered that some of this increased dopamine was attaching to dopamine
receptors called D1 receptors, and some was attaching to D2 receptors.

To find out what effects these different receptors had, the researchers
blocked them in animal model learning studies and observed the results.

The scientists blocked the D1 receptors - Focus was improved

The scientists blocked the D2 receptors - Focus was reduced but
learning was quickened!

The researchers say that the D1 receptors play a role in strengthening
neural connections – which are the base of all learning.

Lead researcher Kay M. Tye, PhD explained the importance of
the research, saying that although Ritalin is given to millions of people each
year, scientists don’t yet fully understand exactly how it helps to improve performance,
and that, “By identifying the brain mechanisms underlying Ritalin's behavioral
enhancements, we can better understand the action of Ritalin as well as the
properties governing brain plasticity”’

Researchers say that eating too much junk food can lead to changes in the brain similar to what is seen in drug addicts. They say this helps to explain compulsive and unhealthy eating at the neurochemical level.

Dopamine is one of the major pleasure regulating
neurochemicals in the brain, and when people take heroin or cocaine, it is
dopamine that floods the brain and causes intense pleasure.

If a person takes cocaine or heroin regularly, the brain tries
to get things back to a normal level of functioning by decreasing the number of
dopamine receptors in the brain. Once this happens the drug using person must
take drugs just to feel normal – and will experience negative states when not
using drugs. Dopamine down regulation causes physical dependency.

Researchers now say that the same thing happens to
those that eat too much junk food!

Eating fatty or sugar laden foods causes the release of
dopamine in the brain, and thus pleasure. In a laboratory study, rats given regular
access to fatty sugary foods for a period of weeks not only gained a
substantial amount of weight, they also changed their brain chemistry. They
experienced the same dopamine receptor down regulation as is seen in drug addiction.

Lead researcher Paul J. Kenny explained, “When the animal
over-stimulates its brain pleasure centres with highly palatable food, the
systems adapt by decreasing their activity. However, now the animal requires
constant stimulation from palatable food to avoid entering a persistent state
of negative reward."

As they lost dopamine receptors, they ate ever more
compulsively, and would even brave electric shocks to gain access to sugary or
fat laden food. When only healthy food was offered, the ‘food addicted’ rats
simply refused to eat at all.

Kenny says that the study results are significant, as they
show a neural explanation for overeating, but he says also that there’s really
no surprise here, saying, "People know intuitively that there's more to
[overeating] than just will power. There's a system in the brain that's been
turned on or overactivated, and that's driving it at some subconscious
level."

Deep in your mind, in the area that sends out pleasure signals to the body, heroin and cigarettes seem to do pretty much the same thing.

Daniel McGehee, Professor of Anesthesia and Critical Care at
the University of Chicago Medical Center, says – maybe not.

Obviously, the initial effects of nicotine and opiate type
drugs differ drastically, but researchers examining the dopamine (the brain's
feel-good chemical) released after the administration of the two drugs, were
surprised to learn that the brain seems to feel the reward effects of the two
drugs equally strongly.

McGehee explains, "We found remarkable overlap between
the effects of nicotine and opiates on dopamine signaling within the brain’s
reward centers."

In animal model studies, researchers examined dopamine
released in the nucleus accumbens of the brain (the brain's pleasure and reward
center) and found that within this area of the brain, the dopaminergic
responses were almost identical.

Previous comparative studies of nicotine and opiates, in the
ventral tegmental area of the brain (another dopamine and reward area) had
produced similar findings.

Changes in dopamine functioning in the brain are associated
with addiction and cravings, and researchers explain that having a better understanding
of the effect of nicotine in the nucleus accumbens may allow for the development
of more effective treatment options. They also stress that their study results further
underscore the seriousness of a nicotine addiction, that nicotine creates fundamental
physiological addictions, and that smokers wanting to quit do face an arduous task
in overcoming their dependency.

The complete study results can be found in the Feb. 13 issue
of The Journal of Neurosicence.

Neuroscientists working to unlock the mysteries of the mind may provide military strategists with fertile material for new weapons development, says a report by leading scientists for the DIA

Mind controlled military drones, soldiers without guilt or
emotion, electronic pulsing machines that force people to reveal the truth –
these all sound like the imaginings of science fiction but are actually the
scientific predictions from some of America's top minds.

The Defense Intelligence Agency commissioned a report from
many of America's
leading scientists, asking for informed speculation on how increasing understanding
of the brain may translate to novel medications or technologies – and their
possible military or security implications.

In their report, these scientists predict continuing rapid advances in our
comprehension of neural function and with it a startling array of real world possibilities.
They also suggest that increases in computing power will provide lesser world
powers access to develop their own neural-weapons, weapons that unprepared nations
won't likely have adequate defenses for.

Speculative ideas generated by the scientists include:

Drug based land
mines - Land mines that release a pharmacological agent (a drug) to disable
(or kill) opposing forces

Mind
controlled technologies – machines that connect directly with the mind,
such as mind controlled military drones

Machines
that enforce truth – Machines that disable a person's ability to lie
(ending a need for torture)

Drugs
that increase battlefield performance – medications that could increase
strength, stamina or cognition, or drugs that could reduce the emotional
burden of combat

Machines
that could spot anxiety or fear – for imagined use in security operations,
such as at an airport, for example

Although the possibilities are mind-boggling, Kit Green, chairman
of the investigative report, says that there are few in the intelligence community
that can truly understand the science. He warns that unless governments increase
their expertise capacity to deal with coming neurological weapons and advances,
"It's going to be impossible to predict surprises."

Jonathan Moreno, an expert in the fields of neuroscience
ethics and national security matters compares today's neuroscientists with the
physicists of the 1940's who worked on the development of the nuclear bomb. The
difference, though, says Moreno,
is that "Neuroscientists working in labs today might be blissfully unaware
of how their research could be used in war."